Your help could further MMSA’s vision of a brighter STEM future for the State of Maine and the nation. Today, I ask you to support MMSA and become a part of the movement to support exciting new ways for our youth to learn about science, technology, engineering, and math.

Many Maine schools and districts have adopted or are in the process of adopting the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). As educators transition to these new standards, they are challenged with making sense of their structure, complexity and intent. This workshop is designed for K-12 teachers who are interested in taking the lead in supporting others as their school or district transitions toward the vision of teaching and learning outlined in these new standards. This Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance and the Maine Science Teachers Association have partnered to host these workshops across the state.

This workshop follows a ‘train the trainer’ format and will introduce strategies for helping others build understanding of these new standards. Each participant will leave with a digital toolkit of ready-to-use resources aimed at ‘kick starting’ teachers’ learning experiences around the NGSS. In addition to examining the conceptual shifts called for in NGSS’s foundational document, A Framework for K-12 Science Education, participants will explore the NGSS architecture, examine what is meant by three-dimensional teaching and learning, become familiar with the science and engineering practices as interwoven with core STEM ideas, and examine snapshots of three-dimensional instruction. Time to do some initial planning for how to best use the resources and tools with colleagues in your professional learning setting, based on needs, is built in.

Workshops run from 9:00 am – 3:30 pm, with registration starting at 8:30 am and includes materials, light breakfast and lunch. Available at a reduced cost of $25 per person for Maine educators through grant funding from Texas Instruments.